1 Samuel 28:25 - Printer Friendly

ESV: and she put it before Saul and his servants, and they ate. Then they rose and went away that night.

NIV: Then she set it before Saul and his men, and they ate. That same night they got up and left.

NASB: She then served it to Saul and his servants, and they ate. Then they got up and left that night.

CSB: She served it to Saul and his servants, and they ate. Afterward, they got up and left that night.

NLT: She brought the meal to Saul and his advisers, and they ate it. Then they went out into the night.

KJV: And she brought it before Saul, and before his servants; and they did eat. Then they rose up, and went away that night.

NKJV: So she brought it before Saul and his servants, and they ate. Then they rose and went away that night.

Saul eats what is likely the final meal of his life. He is with two servants in the home of a medium: someone who attempts to contact the spirits of the dead. Saul has just learned that he and his sons will die the next day (1 Samuel 28:19). The medium has persuaded him to eat so that he will have the strength to travel (1 Samuel 28:23) She prepares and serves the meal quickly, and the three men are able to leave her house before morning. The text doesn't describe it, but Saul would have had to travel back to the camp of the Israelites in disguise once again by making his way around the camp of the Philistine army (1 Samuel 28:8).

Saul has consistently disobeyed God since early in his reign as king. He sacrificed when he should have waited for Samuel (1 Samuel 13:8–13). He kept the livestock and the king of the Amalekites alive when God told him to destroy them all (1 Samuel 15:4–9). Because of his sins, Samuel had to tell Saul that God was taking the throne from his family and His Spirit from his heart (1 Samuel 13:14; 15:28; 16:13–14).

Despite his stunning refusal to obey God in warfare, Saul still desperately wants God's guidance as he faces an unbeatable Philistine army. Saul should have known God wasn't answering because of Saul's disobedience. Tomorrow, His judgment will be complete. Saul and three of his sons, including Jonathan, will fall in battle (1 Samuel 28:15–19). Saul collapses to the ground in despair, and the medium hurries to his aid. She forces him to eat some bread while she fixes a meal. Now, Saul and his servants share one last dinner before battle (1 Samuel 28:20–24).

In a strange course of events only God could orchestrate, David is currently on the Philistine side. The king of Gath had agreed to protect David, his 600 men, and their families from Saul (1 Samuel 27:1–4). In exchange, the king has ordered them to fight their own people (1 Samuel 28:1–2). This very night, the other Philistine commanders refuse to fight with David, the warrior said to have struck down "ten thousand" Philistines (1 Samuel 29).

David and his men will head home the morning of the battle. When they arrive, they will find the Amalekites have burned their city and taken their wives and children. While David recovers everything he lost, he won't know that his king and his best friend are dead (1 Samuel 29).

First Samuel 28:20–25 records King Saul's last known meal on earth. This gives him just enough strength to meet his doom. He's about to face the combined armies of the Philistines. Samuel's spirit has told him the Philistines will win, and Saul and his sons will die (1 Samuel 28:3–19). Saul hasn't eaten and collapses on the ground. The witch prepares them food, and she and his servants convince him to eat. The next day, three of Saul's sons, including Jonathan, will die. When Saul is wounded, he will fall on his sword (1 Samuel 31). Because of Saul's rebellion against God, David will be king.

Israelites and the Philistines prepare for war. The Philistine king Achish demands that David fight with him against Israel. Terrified at the amassed Philistine army and unable to reach the Lord for help, Saul finds a medium to contact Samuel's spirit. Samuel repeats that the Lord has taken the kingdom from Saul and adds that Saul and his sons will fall, along with Israel, the next day. The medium serves Saul and his men a large meal, and the men leave under the cover of darkness. David is saved from having to fight his own people, but Saul and his sons do die. David will soon be king (1 Samuel 29; 31).

David and his men have escaped Saul (1 Samuel 27) and begun been fighting Israel's enemies under the protection of the Philistine king Achish (1 Samuel 28). Now, Achish wants David to fight Israel with him. Saul sees the Philistine army and is terrified. He finds a medium to call up Samuel's spirit. Samuel tells Saul that he, his sons, and Israel will fall. Fortunately, the other Philistine kings refuse to fight with David, and Achish sends him home. But Saul's sons are killed. Mortally wounded, Saul will take his own life (1 Samuel 29; 31).

First Samuel introduces the key figures who led Israel after the era of the judges. The books of 1 and 2 Samuel were originally part of a single text, split in certain translations shortly before the birth of Christ. Some of the Bible’s most famous characters are depicted in this book. These including the prophet Samuel, Israel’s first king, Saul, her greatest king, David, and other famous names such as Goliath and Jonathan. By the end of this book, Saul has fallen; the book of 2 Samuel begins with David’s ascension to the throne.